


Sweet Girl

by paganeyes



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1980s, F/M, Murder, Prostitution, Trans Female Character, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 09:07:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9649139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paganeyes/pseuds/paganeyes
Summary: "Can you identify him?" He shakes his head wildly, like a madman."Her name is Tyler Joseph."





	

The air is hot and sticky. It's only May, but something about New York City makes the summer heat come faster.

The small window in the hotel room is open, but it doesn't do much as a breeze of warm air whooshes into the room. He considers closing it, but decides against it. The heat will just become stifling if he does.

Josh wipes his sweaty palms on his jeans before he fidgets with his camera again. Maybe he's just nervous. There's a knock on the door. He takes a deep breath before opening it and there she is.

The wig she's wearing is brunette and cut into a sharply angled bob which reaches her chin. There are sparse bangs across her forehead and black makeup rimming her wide brown eyes, long lashes coated in mascara.

“I'm ready for my close-up," she smirks.

Josh grins.

-

Tyler sits on the hotel bed, fussing with the edge of her skirt. She crosses her legs and uncrosses them again, asking Josh what looks better on the camera. Josh says she looks beautiful either way. She tucks a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear and sighs. She's wearing a pair of earrings that are shaped like daisies. "What is this for again?"

"I'm doing a final film project on transgender sex workers and I'd like to interview you."

"I don't do that anymore," Tyler snaps. Her eyes are angry and narrowed, staring at Josh who is setting up the camera. "I told you that already."

"I know, but I'd like to hear about your experiences." Tyler hesitates before she digs through her purse and pulls out a cigarette. She lights it up as soon as Josh hits the record button.

"Are you going to make me a star?" Her lipstick stained mouth is turned up in a smirk again. Josh rolls his eyes, although there's a small smile creeping onto his face.

"Let's start with some simple stuff. Could you state your name, age and occupation for the camera?" Tyler tilts her head back and exhales a long line of smoke before she looks directly into the camera.

"My name is Tyler Joseph, I'm twenty-three years old and I'm a model."

Josh continues to ask simple, silly questions before he digs into more personal things. He doesn't know what questions to ask exactly so instead he tries, "Why don't you tell us your story?" Tyler hesitates for a moment before she smiles shyly at the camera.

"Well, I left home when I was about thirteen years old. My parents caught me wearing some of my mother's make up and clothes. I knew they were embarrassed, that they didn't understand me. I didn't want them.. I didn't want them to be ashamed of me, you know? I knew I couldn't change because this is who I am. But some people just don't get that. So I left Ohio and came here."

"I think men like me because I'm small. I'm thin and pretty. I wear nice clothes. My hands are small and I keep them well manicured," she holds up her hand and fans out her fingers, looking like she's inspecting the nail beds. "I have a soft voice, it's kind of high-pitched. It's not like anybody is going to see.. Down there, you know? So nobody knows that I'm..." She searches for a correct term before settling on, " _different_."

"When I did sex work it was scary. Terrifying really," Tyler is on her fourth cigarette now. She flicks ashes into a tray on the nightstand before holding it back to her lips. "Men would get angry with me when they found out I had a dick. They'd call me names, hit me sometimes. The last client I was ever with, he threatened to kill me. I was so afraid that I jumped out the window and climbed down the fire escape." She's quiet again. Josh zooms the camera in closer to Tyler's beautiful face, capturing the way her lashes cast shadows onto her cheeks. He zooms out when she opens her mouth again.

"I only have friends now." She laughs softly and looks back to the camera again. "I have some friends who are wealthy. They like to buy me things. We'll go out together and they like to see me looking pretty in things that they buy me.. I'll sleep with them sometimes to get what I want." Tyler shrugs and finishes the cigarette. "It's a nice little set up, I guess." Josh stops the camera and clears his throat.

"Okay, that was uh.. That was great. We can take a break if you'd like. Are you hungry?"

Tyler grins.

"I thought you'd never ask."

-

He takes Tyler out for dinner that night and walks her home afterwards.

Maybe in the back of his mind he knows that he's one of the friends she was speaking about.

He doesn't think about it.

He doesn't.

-

The next time that Josh interviews Tyler, she's the first one in the hotel room.

She's wearing hoop earrings and a black kimono with roses printed all over it. The sleeves are flowy and swish when she moves her arms to hug Josh. Her pants are leather and _very_ form fitting. For once, she's not wearing a wig. Josh is surprised, but happy. Her hair is shaved nearly to the scalp and dark. Josh decides she looks better this way than she does with any other hair style he's seen her sport. She sits on the same spot on the bed, looking more excited than the last time they had filmed. Maybe it's the haircut, or the mascara on her lashes, but Tyler's eyes look so large and soft Josh might start to cry.

He doesn't, thankfully.

He decides to start with a possibly more cheery subject this time. He asks Tyler about her plans for the future. She brightens at this.

"Well, I'm an artist, believe it or not," she smiles that shy smile at the camera. "I love to create. Painting, writing.. You name it. I'm better at writing poetry than anything, though.. I'd like to publish a book of my poems one day for everybody to read. It'd be lovely."

"You should let me read some of your work sometime," Josh peeks at Tyler from behind the camera. She nods and promises to bring her book of writing with her the next time.

"Any other big plans?" Tyler thinks about this.

"I want to get married one day. Leave New York City and get married in a church... In a white dress. Have lots of flowers. I love flowers.." She trails off before continuing. "Maybe adopt a few children. Settle down. Live the _American dream_ , right?" Tyler snorts. Josh's chest aches. "I want to have sexual reassignment surgery done. I'm saving up for it right now. I feel like it's.." she motions towards her crotch, "the only thing standing between me and being a real woman. There's nothing 'mannish' about me, you know? Apart from that. It'll make me feel complete once it's gone."

Josh hits the stop button and steps away from the camera.

"You're just as much of a woman as any other woman, Tyler. Having a dick doesn't change that fact."

"I know, I know. I just." She presses her lips into a flat line. "You don't know what it was like. Men treating me like a beautiful woman, but as soon as they saw 'it' I was nothing but a 'faggot'. It almost got me _killed_ , for God's sake."

Tyler is in tears now. Her mascara starts to run down her cheeks. Josh sits beside her on the bed and wraps his arms around her, slowly pulling her head to his chest.

They stay like that for nearly an hour; Tyler sobbing and Josh rubbing her back in comfort. Tyler finally sits up, makeup completely smeared off by now. There's a bit of snot dripping from her nose and her eyes are red and puffy. Josh gets her some tissues and a wet towel from the bathroom. She thanks him as she wipes her face clean and of any trace that she had been crying.

"That was stupid, I'm sorry." She dabs at the corner of her eye with the washcloth.

"It wasn't stupid, don't apologize. You know I'm always here for you, Ty. I'll stick with you through thick and thin."

Tyler smiles softly at this, nods, and leans forward to kiss Josh's cheek.

"I know."

-

For their final interview, they had planned to meet up a week after the second one.

Tyler doesn't show up.

She doesn't answer her phone when Josh calls. He leaves three voicemails.

Two days pass and Josh really starts to worry.

Monday comes and goes and Josh decides he's going to pay Tyler a visit. When he knocks on the door, she doesn't answer.

At this point, Josh has come to the realization that she probably left New York City. Maybe she met someone and ran away with them. Josh tries to be happy for her.

He tries.

-

He gets the phone call a week after their missed date. It's a police officer and they're asking him to come identify a body of someone who may be a friend of his.

Josh drops his phone and leaves it hanging by the chord as he runs out of his apartment.

-

The hotel room is taped off when he arrives.

It's some sleezy place that Josh would've never thought Tyler would even look at, never mind spend the night in. He explains who he is in a shaky voice and the police officer blocking the doorway moves out of the way, allowing him inside.

Tyler is laying on the bed.

Her dress is torn at the side, leaving her exposed to everyone in the room. Josh wants to throw a blanket over her. He steps closer and his eyes begin to cloud with tears. Tyler's lips are blue and chapped; her skin is pale, paler than Josh has ever seen it. She's always had this tan glow about her. It's completely gone now. Her neck has a circle of dark, ugly bruises around it.

Even so, she looks beautiful.

Josh's chest aches.

"Your phone number was written down on a piece of paper in the victim's purse. Sir, I need you to focus on me." Josh blinks away a few tears and looks up at the police officer who is speaking to him. "Can you identify him?" He shakes his head wildly, like a madman.

" _Her_ name is Tyler Joseph."

**Author's Note:**

> this is not meant to be offensive in any way, so if it bothers anybody please just let me know and i'll fix whatever it is. please keep in mind it is set in the 1980s. i hope you enjoyed!


End file.
